The Karnataka High Court has ordered bike taxi aggregators, including Rapido, Uber, and Ola, to cease operations in the state within six weeks. The ruling came as the Court dismissed petitions seeking legal recognition for bike taxis.
Justice B Shyam Prasad, who pronounced the verdict, rejected the pleas filed by Ropeen Transportation Services Private Limited (parent company of Rapido) and other aggregators, stating that the Court could not direct the State to register non-transport vehicles as transport vehicles.
“The Court cannot issue a direction to the State to frame regulations as sought by the petitioners,” the Bench observed while rejecting the demand for a regulatory framework for bike taxis.
The verdict effectively nullifies the interim relief granted in April 2022 by another Bench, which had restrained authorities from taking coercive action against the aggregators. This relief had allowed Rapido and others to continue operations until now.
With this ruling, bike taxi aggregators must wind up their operations in Karnataka within six weeks unless the government takes any legislative steps in their favor.
